Smiling Fork

Smiling Fork is your virtual cook book. Here you will find daily recipes, blogged and brought together so you don't have to get lost looking.

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Christmas Gingerbread Cookies

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (easy)

Yield: 70 cookies

Ingredients:

For dough:

400 g all-purpose flour

75 g butter, room temperature

2 eggs

140 g powdered sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon baking soda

20 g store bought gingerbread spices (or 7 cloves, 1 teaspoon of anise, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch of star anise)

For icing:

1 egg yolk

150 g powdered sugar

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

neutral oil to grease baking tray

1 egg for eggwash

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 190˚C.

Grease two baking trays.

Put all the dry ingredients for the gingerbread cookies into larger bowl and mix them together. Add butter, eggs and honey and knead until a smooth dough forms.

Sprinkle lightly your working desktop with some flour and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5 mm. Cut out the cookies using cookie cutters of various shapes. Place them directly on the pre-greased baking trays. Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown slightly.

Immediately after removing cookies out from the oven, brush them with some egg-wash. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Mix together egg white, lemon juice and sugar to a slightly denser paste consistency. For icing use piping bag, plastic bag or plastic bottle. Draw the outlines first and let it dry (at least 1 hour). Dilute the icing with a little bit of a lemon juice and flood in the contours to form an even layer. Let dry completely. Once again, add some powdered sugar and decorate the white areas. You'll create a fine relief.

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Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (easy)

Yield: 36 pieces

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 stick) / 113g Unsalted Butter

⅛ teaspoon Ground nutmeg

1 pound / 453g Light Muscovado Sugar (can use soft dark brown sugar)

½ cup / 118 ml Milk

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 cup / 235g Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter

2 ⅓ cups (308g) Powdered sugar

⅓ cup / 75g / 2.65 ounces Dark Chocolate / semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Maldon Sea Salt / Fleur de Sel, for sprinkling (optional, but recommended)

Directions:

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan along with the ground nutmeg.

With a wooden spoon, stir in the brown sugar and milk, removing any lumps, and bring to a boil for 2-3 Minutes without stirring.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla, then the peanut butter.

Put the powdered sugar in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Then, pour the hot peanut butter and sugar mixture on top of the powdered sugar, and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Pour into an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan, cover the top with parchment, and press down to smooth out the top (I use another 8-inch pan to do this) set aside to cool slightly (10 minutes should do), then place in the fridge to cool completely.

Turn the fudge out of the tin onto the parchment, cut into 36 squares (or smaller, if you prefer)

Melt the chocolate, and add a thin layer to top of each piece of fudge. Allow the chocolate to set, and sprinkle each piece of fudge with a few grains of flaky sea salt.

Store in an airtight container.

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Blueberry Pie

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (moderate)

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups flour

12 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces

2 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, chilled

2 tablespoons ice water

Filling

4 cups blueberries

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Assembly

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

For the crust: In a food processors, pulse the butter and flour until it resembles a coarse meal. With the processor on, slowly add the cream, vinegar, and ice water until the dough begins to hold together. Press the dough into a rough ball, then transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times until smooth. Flatten dough into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the filling: Toss blueberries with lime juice, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl. Set aside.

For the pie: Preheat oven to 375°F. Set aside 1/4 of the pie dough. Roll the rest out on a lightly floured surface into an 11" round, then fit it into a 9" pie plate. Transfer filling to pastry bottom and scatter the 3 tablespoons of butter over fruit. Roll the remaining 1/4 of dough out on the lightly floured surface and cut out shapes for the top. Place on top of filling. Brush crust and cut-outs with 1 teaspoon cream. Bake until pastry is deep golden (cover edges of crust with foil if browning too quickly), 60–70 minutes. Set pie aside to cool for several hours before serving.

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Slambuc

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (easy)

Slambuc ("SHLUM-BUTZ") is a traditional dish of shepherds on Hungary’s great plain, called Alföld (lowlands). Originally made with only huge amount of ‘lebbencs’ pasta (a whole spread dried pasta torn into random parts), small amount of pork fat, water and salt, some newer recipes call for bacon, vegetables and ground red paprika as well. Slambuc is really heavy meal – a native Hungarian shepherd’s meal. Originally ‘slambuc’ has to be made in a bigger pot ( big pot, cauldron). The traditional recipe only contains potato, pasta (‘lebbencs’), bacon (with a bit more fat), onion and paprika, but you can try to make something special on your own from the ‘base’ recipe. You can drop some dry sausage pieces, tomato in it, or only salami or just onion and leek. My recipe is quite similar to the original one: just contains extra salami and red paprika. Cooking time is traditionally 2-3 hours on fire, but if you cook this meal in your kitchen it’s around 45 minutes. *Lebbencs ("LAEH-BENCH") is the name for pasta which is made by breaking large sheets into irregularly shaped pieces.

Ingredients:

400g 'lebbencs' / squares of pasta (1 package

100g smoked bacon (about 3 thin slices, with more fat)

1 kg of potatoes

2 piece of a medium onion

1-2 teaspoon of red paprika (not hot)

salt and pepper

water

optional: pepperoni salami slices or dried smoked sausage cut to small ’cube’ shape

Directions:

Heat a bigger bowl, on gas mark 4, put the small cube shape bacon fry it in its own fat. Fry the onion in the fat of the bacon on slow fire till it becomes "glassy", and take it away from the oven and stir the paprika into it and for last, the pepperoni salami/smoked sausage.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Add to the bowl; drop a pinch of salt and pepper and a little water to cover all. Cook the potatoes to be soft covered by a dish cover along with continuous stirring.

Before the end, drop the pasta into the ready potatoes and heat it together on strong fire.

The food is ready when all of the water disappears from the meal, but still looks juicy.

Serve it hot and fresh on a pre-heated plate. Eat it with pickled apple paprika, and drink a glass of red wine!

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Homemade Easter Bunnies

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (easy)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

4 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil (melted)

1/4 cup agave or use NuNatural vanilla stevia drops (I use 10 drops. Triple or quadruple that amount if you don’t like extra-bitter chocolate.)

optional: extracts, cocoa nibs, or other add-ins

Directions:

Combine coconut oil with agave or stevia drops.

Stir, then add cocoa powder (and add 3/4 tablespoon of water or nondairy milk if using stevia.)

Stir until the mixture becomes thick, then pour into any flat container (or candy molds or smush between layers of wax paper or in ziploc bags).

Fridge or freeze until solid.

To shape the chocolate like the bunnies you will need a mold or a lot of time and a knife.

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Homemade Thin Mints

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (very easy)

Ingredients:

Cookies:

8 ounces butter

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

Coating:

10 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate

1 ½ teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter until light and fluffy, then add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Stir in the salt, vanilla and cocoa powder. Mix until the cocoa powder is integrated and the batter resembles a thick frosting. Add the flour and mix just until the flour is combined, making sure to not over mix.

Form dough into a ball. Knead a few times to bring together, then flatten into a disk between half an inch and one inch thick, cover in plastic wrap then place in freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove dough from the freezer and roll it out really thin on a floured surface, about 1/8-inch. Cut cookies using 1 1/2-inch cutter.

Place cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. While the cookies bake, make the peppermint coating. Chop the baking chocolate into very small, thin pieces. Place in a glass measuring cup or similar container and microwave in short 15-20 second bursts. Stir in the peppermint extract. Feel free to add more peppermint as you see fit.

Gently drop the cookies, one at a time, into the coating. Turn to coat entirely, then lift the cookie out of the chocolate with the fork and bang the fork on the side of the pan until the extra coating drips off. Place on a parchment or plastic wrap-lined baking sheet, and repeat for the rest of the cookies. Place the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer to set.

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Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (easy)

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

Ganache:

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup whipping cream, steaming hot

Chocolate Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pound confectioners sugar

Directions:

Sift flour, sugars, baking soda and salt through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Place chocolate, butter and cocoa into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk and eggs until well combined. Add dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into regular-sized muffin tins prepared with cupcake liners (about 15). Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

To make ganache, place chocolate in a bowl. Pour cream over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

To make frosting, place butter, cream and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Sift cocoa through a fine-mesh sieve set over the mixing bowl. Mix on medium-speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Sift confectioners sugar into mixing bowl through a fine-mesh sieve. Beat on low to combine; turn speed to medium and beat for 6 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Icing will be quite stiff.

To assemble, cut out a small cone in the centre of each cupcake. Discard scraps. Spoon ganache into each cupcake and spread a small amount over the top to smooth it out. Pipe on frosting in desired fashion. Drizzle with remaining ganache, heating up if necessary. Garnish with chopped chocolate.

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No-Churn Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (very easy)

Ingredients:

200g spreadable cream cheese (about 3/4 cup)

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups heavy (whipping) cream, cold

3/4 cup blueberry syrup

Directions:

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Slowly add condensed milk, creaming between each addition to avoid lumps. Stir in vanilla extract and heavy cream. Switch to the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted.

Spread half into an 8×8 inch, square baking dish. Dollop with half of blueberry syrup. Top with remaining cream mixture, spreading evenly. Dollop with remaining blueberry syrup. Using a knife, swirl the syrup into the cream mixture. Cover with foil and freeze for 6 hours or until firm.

Allow to sit out for 20-30 minutes before serving.

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Chocolate Crinkles

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (very easy)

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

6 ounces (180 grams) semisweet chocolate or 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup All Purpose Flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Set aside and cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speeed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, then chocolate. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture. Transfer bowl to freezer to chill for 30-60 minutes, until dough is firm enough to handle. To make ahead: dough may be stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place confectioners’ sugar in a shallow dish. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough between your palms to form balls, then roll very generously in the confectioners’ sugar (you want a thick coating). Place cookies on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake about 10 minutes, until tops are cracked and centre is almost set. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

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Moules Mediterranee

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (very easy)

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

2 quarts fresh mussels

1/4 cup white wine

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook the onion, pepper and garlic in the oil on medium flame until the onions are soft.

Turn up the flame to high and add the mussels.

Pour in the white wine and stir for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, cover and cook for 5 minutes until all the mussels have opened.

Serve the mussels in large bowl with the broth and garlic toast.

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S'mores Cookies

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (very easy)

Yield: 28 cookies

Ingredients:

10 graham cracker sheets, finely ground in a food processor

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups miniature marshmallows

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

3 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine ground graham crackers, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until lighter and fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Stir in egg and vanilla. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until well combine.

Scoop out 1 Tbsp dough at a time and form into a ball, then place dough balls onto greased baking sheet. Flatten dough balls slightly and bake 9 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Meanwhile generously butter a cookie sheet and spread miniature marshmallows in a single layer on cookie sheet. Heat oven to broil and toast marshmallows (do not walk away from them) for about 30 seconds - 1 minute until golden. Remove from oven and using a buttered spatula, scoop marshmallows over tops of cookies.

In a small microwave safe mixing bowl combine chocolate chips, butter and water. Microwave chocolate on 50% in 30 intervals stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Pour mixture into a small ziploc bag or piping bag. Cut a small tip off the end and drizzle over S'mores Cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container.

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Mexican Chocolate Tart

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (very easy)

Ingredients:

160g AP flour

100g butter

50g sugar

Pinch of salt

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp dutch-processed cocoa powder

500g dark milk chocolate

400ml cream

1 pack of vanilla sugar

Cocoa for dusting the cake

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).

Combine flour, sugar, salt, egg yolk, cocoa and butter and knead until smooth. Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Grease a 24cm (about 9'') spring form pan and and lay out dough, forming a crust. Prick it with a fork several times and lay out with parchment paper. Fill with dried peas.

Bake for 15 minutes, remove peas and parchment paper and bake for further 10 to 15 minutes.

Chop up chocolate and heat up cream in a small pot. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate along with vanilla sugar to the heated cream and stir until smooth. Let it cool off for 30 minutes.

Pour mass into crust and put in refrigerator for 4 hours. Dust with cocoa powder.

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Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆ (very easy)

Ingredients:

Cookies:

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling:

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Drizzle:

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

To make cookies, in a large bowl combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps disappear. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. The dough will be oily. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

To make the cheesecake filling, using a mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Using a teaspoon, scoop out cheesecake filling and place on a plate. Continue scooping out cheesecake filling into teaspoon balls until you have 10. Place plate in the freezer and freeze for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. To assemble the cookies, take about 1/4 cup of red velvet cookie dough and flatten in your hands. Place a teaspoon of cheesecake filling in the center and wrap the cookie dough around the filling. Gently roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Scoop onto lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Only bake 3 cookies at a time. The cookies are large and will spread. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies begin to crackle. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or over a double-boiler. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies. Let the cookies set until the chocolate hardens. Serve and enjoy!

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Nutella Croissant Bread Pudding

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (easy)

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

8 large croissants, preferably stale

1/2 cup Nutella

3 whole large eggs

6 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups half and half

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoonfuls cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 10 x 6 by 3-inch deep glass baking dish.

Slice each croissant in half lengthwise and spread a generous scoop of nutella on one side. Sandwich the halves back together and roughly chop into 1-2 inch pieces. Layer croissant/nutella pieces evenly in prepared glass baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine large eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, half and half, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Pour the custard mixture over the croissants and allow to soak for 10 minutes, pressing down gently.

Loosely cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Cut a few small holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 55-65 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for 10 to 15 more minutes or until the pudding is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.

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Gingerbread Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (easy)

Ingredients:

Cake:

8 oz light brown sugar

3 eggs (room temp)

8 oz bread flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 oz melted, unsalted butter (room temp)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half (room temp)

Filling:

16 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

4 oz butter (room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 oz powdered sugar, sifted

Directions:

Cake:

Butter and flour a 13″ x 9″ pan. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Whip the brown sugar and eggs together to a thick consistency.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & cardamom) and salt. Add to the egg mixture, mixing slowly.

Combine the melted butter and half-and-half, then add to the mixture, mixing in slowly. Be careful not to overmix.

Pour the batter in to the pan and bake for 20 minutes or until the cake springs back when depressed lightly.

Cool the cake completely before icing.

Filling:

Add the cream cheese to the mixer, using a paddle attachment, mixing until soft.

Slowly add the butter until well blended.

Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix until smooth.

To assemble the cake, cut the sheet cake in half, length wise, place one half on a plate and scoop the filling on top of the first layer. Add the other half to the top and sprinkle the entire plate with powdered sugar.

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Gingerbread Cheesecake

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (medium)

Ingredients:

Crust:

2C gingerbread cookie crumbs (recipe)

1/4C butter, melted

1 1/2tbsp brown sugar

Filling:

3 – 8oz containers cream cheese, softened

1C and 2tbsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

3tbsp molasses

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cookie dough (link to recipe above). Divide in half. Roll out onto a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or a silpat. Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.

Remove tray from oven. Carefully cut dough up into large pieces. Continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes. Remove baking sheet, allow cooked dough to sit for several minutes.

When dough has cooled down enough to handle, transfer broken squares to a food processor (or a large bag, using a rolling pin or mallet to crush). Blend until only fine crumbs remain. Measure out 2 cups worth of crumbs, set aside. Discard or store extra crumbs for future use.

In the food processor or a large bowl, blend together cookie crumbs, melted butter and sugar.

Prepare springform pan with two large sheets of tin foil. Pour crust mixture into springform pan. Shake pan to dispurse mixture. Using a flat bottom cup or other item press down on mixture to create a smooth and even crust on bottom and part way up the side of your pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl or stand mxiture, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, cream mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl prior to each new addition and as needed. Add vanilla and eggs. Finish with the addition of spices and molasses.

Place springform pan into a larger pan such as a roasting pan. Pour cheesecake filling carefully into prepared crust. Pour hot water into larger pan until water is half way up the sides of your springform pan. Very carefully place pans in oven. Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees. At the 45 minute mark, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake for one hour with the door shut.

Remove cheesecake from oven and water bath.

Let cheesecake sit for 1-2 hours at room temperature on a wire rack. Transfer to the fridge to sit for at least 8 hours or overnight before slicing. Store chilled.

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Irish Cream Cheesecake-Marbled Fudge Brownies

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆ (easy)

Yield: 30 brownies

Ingredients:

Brownie Batter:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

7 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

Cheesecake Batter:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur

Directions:

Brownie:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9- by 13-inch metal baking pan with foil, edges overlapping the pan. Grease foil with butter or cooking spray.

In a large saucepan set over low heat, combine unsalted butter, and semisweet and unsweetened chocolate. Stir frequently until the mixture is smooth. Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Fold in flour.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth the top.

Cheesecake:

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur and egg yolk.

Dollop the cheesecake batter over the brownie batter. Using a knife or metal offset spatula, swirl the cheesecake batter with the top layer of the brownie batter.

Bake until the cheesecake batter is just set in the center and a toothpick inserter in the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using the overhanging foil, lift the brownies out of the pan. Chill in fridge for at least 1 hour. Cut and serve. They are best served cold.